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Festival drops partner over 'barbaric' whale hunts

Sussex Dolphin Project A man standing on a boat out a sea. The boat is not visible. The man is facing the camera but looking off to his right, our left. His right hand is on a metal railing and his left hand is by his side. He is wearing a dark green jacket, a black and red left jacket, and a black cap. The sky behind him is grey, the sea is grey and white from the wash of the boat, and there are two large wind turbines behind him alsoSussex Dolphin Project
Lloyd Gofton, director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said the hunts are "completely against the cultural heart of Brighton and the wider Sussex community"

A music festival in East Sussex has withdrawn its partnership with the Faroe Islands after it was criticised for working with a country which allows “barbaric” whaling.

The Great Escape, a festival based in Brighton, announced last week that it was teaming up with the Faroe Music Export (FME), a Faroese government office, to bring musicians from the country to next year’s festival.

But the Sussex Dolphin Project said it feared the Faroese government was using the partnership to distract people from its country's whaling practices, which the government denied.

The Great Escape has now ended its partnership with the Faroe Islands but said it will continue to support the country’s musicians.

People queueing outside a row of cream houses with white windows. They are queueing behind metal fencing with rainbow netting on which reads The Great Escape. To the right are people walking towards the camera along a road
Thousands of people visit Brighton each year to find new music talent at The Great Escape

During the hunts, which began about 1,200 years ago, boats herd whales and dolphins to the shallows where they are killed with knives, then pulled ashore and eaten by locals.

In 2023, 897 whales and 10 dolphins were killed, according to the Faroese government. In 2021, however, more than 1,400 dolphins were killed in a single day.

Lloyd Gofton, director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, said: “Medieval practices like [this] have no place in an ethical and progressive society. Tradition can no longer be an excuse for the barbaric massacre of animals."

Mr Gofton said his organisation had no issue with The Great Escape promoting Faroese musicians, but did object to the festival partnering with the country’s government.

Getty Images A man standing at the front of a white boat. The boat is in the right top corner of the image, pointing towards the left. Below are about 25 whales in blue water, splashingGetty Images
The hunts are organised by the community and regulated by national legislation, according to the Faroese government

A spokesperson for The Great Escape said: “We are very grateful to the Sussex Dolphin Project for bringing this issue to our attention.

“The festival has now withdrawn its partnership with the Faroe Islands and remains dedicated to showcasing new music talent from around the world.”

The hunts are legal in the Faroe Islands and are regulated by the country's government.

The Faroese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade denied it was using Faroese music and international festivals as a distraction tactic to whaling.

A spokesperson for the ministry said it "regrets" the decision taken by The Great Escape to end the partnership, adding that the activities and mandate of the FME "have nothing to do with whaling or Faroese government policy on maritime resource management".

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